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Glastonbury is going to pay tribute to David Bowie & Prince

Every single year, as long as we can remember, the rumours would begin. Was this the year that - finally - the musical genius that is Prince would grace Worthy Farm with his royal presence?

It never happened and, sadly, it never will, but that won't stop the festival celebrating the memory of the Purple One this June.

It had, of course, already been a sad year for music, with the news of the passing of the equally legendary David Bowie back in January, just days after the release of his final album, Blackstar.

The festival has now announced its plans to honour both artists.

A giant metal lightning flash - from the iconic Aladdin Sane album cover - will adorn the Pyramid stage, while footage from his 2000 headline appearance on the Pyramid stage will be broadcast around the site. In addition, the Park stage will host an "intimate" tribute to his 1977 album Heroes, seemingly a performance of Philip Glass's Symphony No 4, which was based on Bowie's record.

Festival organiser Emily Eavis told the BBC, “We’re going to do an incredible light show which will go on for the whole show and beyond, into the night,” adding that the Prince tributes would perhaps be more spontaneous, saying, “There’s talk of late-night Prince parties and things.”

She also revealed how close they had come to landing their man, saying “It’s been so close to happening for the last three years. A couple of times it’s been confirmed and then not happened. It’s really disappointing that he hasn’t played here but it’s also, obviously, a huge loss to music because he was an incredible force."

You can enjoy footage from that 2000 performance by Bowie - described by Michael Eavis as "the best festival set I've ever seen" - below.